


Crimson Onyx

by Onxy_Black



Category: Splatoon
Genre: Angst, Bittersweet, Blood and Gore, Dark, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Sad, blood is ink
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-13
Updated: 2019-11-16
Packaged: 2020-12-14 06:57:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21011642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onxy_Black/pseuds/Onxy_Black
Summary: Death, which takes away. The Great Turf War, which claimed the lives of many.Life, which begins afresh. A birth, a child, from the darkness.Following the conclusion of the Great Turf War, an Inkling child is born. But not just any normal Inkling child, no, he knew from the beginning he was different. He knew he was above, he was special. But no one understood him, no one bothered.He was scorned. He was thrown aside. He was different. He was special.But with all things, there always was an opposite, a flip side to the coin, just like how Death mirrors Life.---This work is connected to ever other Splatoon work I had done so far (unless otherwise stated). However, there is no need to read any of them before reading this, as the events of this work takes place before ever other work, in terms of the timeline.This work is rated Mature, due to violence and gore. This work is the darkest the author have ever written. You have been warned.Updates every week or earlier.





	1. New

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to yet another work of mine. This is something is wanted to write for quite a while now.
> 
> But, first things first. This work is rated Mature due to violence and gore. Yes, I'm repeating myself, I know. But seriously, this is by far the darkest work I have ever done, and I had no chill this time around.
> 
> Still, I assume there are going to be some returning readers who know of some of my other works? Well I think you guys and gals would more or less know where or who this work is about. At least, after chapter 1 you would definitely be in the loop.
> 
> As for new readers, well. You can just take it as an OC of mine. I mean, it's tagged as such, so yeah.
> 
> But enough of me dragging and dragging, I hope you'all would enjoy this work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics represent thought.  
\--- represent change in POV, location, or time passing.

His earliest memory was that of darkness and warmth. It was dark and warm and comfortable. Somehow, in the darkness he came to be.

_The darkness was welcoming, it was nice and warm in the darkness, he was welcomed, he was home._ These were the feelings and thoughts that came to him before he even came to learn what they meant.

So he stayed in the darkness. Until a moment, when the surroundings began pulsing. The darkness parted, pinpricks of light penetrating the through. And he knew, without even knowing why or how, but he knew, that it was time.

His body moved. He was evicted from the darkness and out. It was bright and cold, unlike the dark and warmth he was used to. Sounds were around him. Sounds he couldn't understand. He made sounds himself, crying and clearing his throat of the mucus and gunk.

Air. Cold dry air entered his lungs for the first time. He couldn't see yet, only able to vaguely perceive that it was light.

Sounds. Yet more sounds around him

He was being moved. Passed around like a mere object.

And finally, arms held him. Arms which were bony and uncomfortable. The sounds changed. _They were supposed to be comforting,_ he reckoned, t_hough it was anything but._

Somehow as he lay in the bony arms, he knew he shouldn't be able to know all this. To be able to think so deeply; he shouldn't be able to. Yet somehow, he did, he just knew. _Yet he was but a helpless child, who could not express himself yet. Yet._

_Soon. _He would learn. He knew he would be taught whatever the sounds were. He would be taught who the bony arms were. He would be taught everything. Then he would know.

He was brought up in those bony arms. Cold dead breath breathed upon him. A rasping sound whispered into his ear.

He shivered. _This being who held him, was it where he came from? Was this where the dark and warm was? _He didn't like it; the light, the cold. It was foreign.

A little sign escaped his lips. He was tired. He hoped the light and cold was not as uncomfortable as it had been so far_. Perhaps it was different. He would learn. He would have to learn._

_But for now, rest._ He needed rest. And he welcomed the darkness that came with it. At last, into the dark once more.

* * *

He grew. The years saw him grow and develop. He was fast, faster than the rest. By the age of 5 he had already developed his humanoid form while the rest still struggled in their half squid forms.

A prodigy. A genius. He was called many names, but never his own. _What was his name even?_ He didn't know.

He had been taken, and put here with a group of 10 to grow, to grow together. _Except that he had already overtaken everyone. _By the age of 1 he spoke. By the age of 2 he walked. And he was already behind. While his physical body learnt these functions, his mind was way ahead. He wanted to learn.

_More. More. He wanted to learn more._

The war was what caught his attention the most. The Great turf War. The Inklings and Octarians fought over land. A war which the Octarians lost, and who were now banished underground. He wanted to meet one; an Octarian. He met Inklings and the other races everyday. But he wanted to learn more. To learn about the Octarians as well.

Except that whenever he brought up the topic, the Inkling known as 'teacher' would redirect the question.

_Ridiculous._

He could see it. The 'teacher' saw him as a child who didn't know anything. But he knew. He knew so much, and this 'teacher' was denying his quest for more knowledge.

This world. This world of cold and light was interesting, yes, but so far had failed to impress him in any way. Whatever new thing the world threw at him, he mastered it. It was easy. Too easy. And now others were jealous, afraid, even. He didn't care. Others could struggle for all he cared, as long as he learnt more, it was fine. After all, who had cared for him? Certainly not the 'teacher' or even worse, his 'parents'.

He learnt who his 'parents' were. He knew what the term meant. But he failed to see any of the supposed traits his 'parents' were supposed to show. They hardly showed their faces, only to take pictures whenever he won yet another award. The last time was the spelling bee competition. That was 1 month ago. He reckoned they would appear when he inevitably won the next one again. He didn't care.

* * *

Yet more years passed. He was now aged 10. He was now attending a party in his honour.

_What a joke._

All he had done was do those stupid tests and now here he was. Apparently, he had competed the tests meant for the highest level of education in engineering.

_Really now? _Those tests did nothing to test him on engineering. What he needed was parts. Physical parts to experiment with, not to finish some math calculus to be an 'engineer'. _Ridiculous. But that was what society deemed correct._

His 'parents' were here again. Taking photos, smiling for the cameras. Spewing nonsense to the press. _What a joke. What a farce. All of it fake. He didn't care. All that mattered was his research._

_Indeed. His research._ In his free time he had been studying himself. And he had made a rather interesting discovery about his body. More specifically, his tentacles. Science stated that the tentacles of inklings were made of ink, and thus with special tools, could be re-shaped into different 'hairstyles'.

_But why not take it a step further? _

He had built a little setup from whatever he could scrap up in his free time. A device that could further influence the ink cells in his tentacles. And what he discovered was astonishing. Truly, the first time he had been surprised. _Then again, it was due to his research that he finally was interested in this world and the residents. His research. His results. _

With a bit of experimentation, he had been able to isolate the ink cells of his tentacles. And they were different. After further study, he had eventually came to the conclusion that his tentacles ink cells were able to change physical forms on themselves.

A startling discovery, yet when he presented it to the 'professors' he was shut down and his idea was deemed as nonsense.

_Oh, nonsense indeed, that was what the ‘professors’ were._

He ignored the useless 'professors' and proceed with his study. And now, finally, he had seen, and obtained results. He had hacked into secret data servers and obtained information on Octarians. _Yes, he knew it was illegal, but well, don't make it so easy then? _Either way he had gotten data on Octolings tentacle hairstyles (since they were the more evolved version of Octarians) and had successfully and secretly reformed his tentacles to imitate them.

_This was revolutionary. If properly studied, it may be possible to have this skill integrated into all inklings, and even octolings. _

_But what was the point? Speciesism of course._

Inklings and Octolings were both a cut of the same cloth, the only difference being their eyes and tentacles. If he could just have this discovery public, and implemented, Octolings could become Inklings, Inklings could become Octolings. And there would no longer be any need for Inklings and Octolings to see species with each other.

A utopia where everyone could stay together. An end to all the speciesism after the war. He could achieve it. All through his research.

He would showcase his results later. In a way, the party was good, a bunch of 'knowledgeable professors' were all here. _Surely, they would be able to see his point. After all, they had to be at a certain level of intelligence, no?_

* * *

Panic. Screams of fear. Gasps of unbelief. Denials of relation to him. Running. Screaming. Pointing. All due to him. _Why? He couldn't understand._

He had presented his discovery of shape-shifting tentacles at the end of the party. But instead of the usual and expected applause and praise, he was met with a shocked silence. Then screaming. Shouting. Panic gripped the hall. Some of the attendees ran for the doors. Others began dialling numbers on their phones and screaming into them. Yet more took pictures. Camera flashes blinded him, as he quickly reverted his tentacles to that of an Inkling.

_He didn't understand why or what was happening. But suffice to say it wasn't anything good._

"Monster!"

"Get away!"

"Octorian spy!"

"MONSTER!"

The crowd was screaming at him now. They were closing in all around him. He sensed danger. He saw danger. They crowd had the same look. That of disgust, fear, anger.

"You.... you are no son of mine. Disgusting! Monster! Get out!"

His eyes searched. He saw her. He saw them. His 'parents'. His one hope of help. And they had already thrown him aside. His 'mother' was facing away from him, clutched by his 'father', who stared at him in disgust.

_Why? Why was everything wrong? What had he done wrong?_ He didn't know. For once in his life he didn't know. He was lost. But he couldn't stay here, the crowd was aggressive now, pressing against him, pushing him into a corner.

A window.

He turned and ran for it, diving and smashing through the window.

The glass shattered around him, as he smashed through, landing on the grass outside in a thud.

Pain. Pain shot through his body. It hurt. Some of the glass must have pieced his skin.

He got up. He couldn’t stay down. And he ran. He ran from the cries and shouts from his 'home'. He ran. He ran. He didn't even know where he was going. Away from here. That's all he knew. So, he ran. Away.

* * *

"Hey... are you ok?" a voice permeated the darkness.

He flinched, shuffling away from the sound. He had ran, and ended up in some junkyard. He had gone to the only place of comfort he ever known, that of darkness. But it seemed even here he was found.

"Hey... hey. It's ok now. It's ok now. I'm here now. It's ok, I won't hurt you."

The voice was comforting. It was kind. It reached out to him. And he looked, vaguely, he could make out a figure in the darkness with him.

_A female. The voice gave away that much._

"Hey... so... you want to come out? I can get you to somewhere safe. Somewhere where no one would look."

The voice was still here. The figure, the girl was still here with him.

_She didn't know. She didn't know about him, his secret, or she would toss him aside too. She couldn't know._

"So... what do you say? Want to get to a safe place? I'll take you there. You... I promise you will be safe."

The voice continued. A slender hand reached out. He noted it was cloaked in black fabric.

He took the hand, and together, slowly made into the light.

He took a moment to look at the figure.

It was, in fact, a girl. She was dressed completely in a beautiful black, with red stripes hugging her chest and torso. And in contrast to the black and red, cool calm blue eyes looked at him. Not in disgust or anger, but in hope. She looked at him, not with pity, but with hope for his future.

"Ah... that wasn't too hard now, right? Come on, let's go now," The girl tugged on his hand as she turned to leave, before stopping and continuing, “... I almost forgot, but what's your name? I'm Celine. Just Celine."

"..." _What was his name?_ He had one, of course. But he wasn’t that anymore, he who similarly served to remind him of his past. He walked in silence, keeping his head down, and followed the girl aimlessly.

_It might be a trap._ He knew that. But he didn't care anymore. _If the girl betrayed him... _He didn't care anymore. He was tired. Tired of everything.

The girl stopped, he looked up. _There was some shack nearby, and what appeared to be... kettles?_

"Ho! Welcome back, agen-- oh? You have a friend now? Who’s this?" A voice sounded out from the shack, as an Inkling appeared.

The Inkling was dressed in some faded military uniform, and walked with a slight limp, leaning on a cane of sorts.

"Captain. I found this poor boy along the way back. I was hoping we could.... help him?" The girl replied to the inkling man.

"Hmmm. Well sure. We could always use an extra pair of hands. Welcome abroad then, young lad! You got a name? I'm Captain Craig Cuttlefish! And this lass here is age-- I mean Celime!" The inkling man identified himself with a nod, before sending the question back to him.

"... Celine, sir. My name is Celine"

"Oh. Terribly sorry dear. My mind just ain't what it used to be now..."

"..." He watched the 2 go back and forth for a bit as he thought. _His name. Did he have one? Should he have one?_

_Something new. Something easy to remember. Something about himself._

_His tentacles. The reason of this whole mess. His tentacles were black, just like the black worn by.... Celine._

"Black..." He rasped out. _Huh. His voice was in worse condition then he thought. _

"Please. Call me Black," He repeated, attempting to sound more dignified this time.

"Ho. I see. Pleased to meet you, Black," Craig responded.

"Black. Sure. Cool name, pleased to meet you!" Celine smiled at him and nodded.

"Well, you must be exhausted. Why don't you get some rest? We will explain everything when you are better?" Celine gestured to the shack, and he_..._ no, Black looked inside, to reveal a cot.

_Rest. Yes. He needed rest._

He nodded, and stumbled over to the cot.

He was asleep before his head hit the cot, and once more darkness consumed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so first up. I'm not going to type as much as I did in these end notes for this work. Sometimes, I may not even type anything. And that's cause I honestly don't feel the need to with this work. (aka I just lazy, but just pretend its the other reason).
> 
> Next, how's the chapter? Long, right? Like seriously, nani?!? I really went on a suppppper spree there, I couldn't stop. Ok, following chapters aren't going to be that long, so yeah. Just a heads up.
> 
> So! Meet Black and Celine, my OCs and main leads for this work. Well actually Black is the main lead, but whatever. I'm not going into too much detail on them, so as to not spoil the story, but please, look forward to them! And the story as well!
> 
> Feedback is appreciated and loved. I would reply to ever comment no matter what when I have the time!
> 
> Until next time,  
Stay Fresh!


	2. Agent

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics represent thought.  
\--- represent change in POV, location, or time passing.

Black woke refreshed. He blinked, before getting up from the cot. Looking down at himself, he found his wounds dressed, various cuts and bruises he suffered from the previous day’s hectic run were cleaned and dressed.

"..."

_He was topless._ He was dressed in his business pants, which were now terribly torn and weathered, with his shirt and suit folded besides him.

Black reached over, and grabbed his shirt, throwing it on and disregarding the suit, before getting up and heading out of the shack.

Black was greeted by the light. Sun light flickered through the few sparse trees and coated him in its light.

Looking around, Black now took note of his surroundings. The shack he was in was part of a fort like structure, with sandbags and ramparts built around the perimeter. And beyond that, the kettles he saw yesterday. It was far away, but Black was pretty sure they were kettles. _Huh. What even..._

"Ho! Good morning. Or is it afternoon? Can't tell with the damned sun and all, but hello again! You seem better!" Black's thoughts were interrupted by Craig.

_He didn't see Craig before, where had he come from? Huh. _Behind Craig was Celine, dressed once again in her black and red coat, standing quietly.

"Yes... I do feel better. Thank you," Black gave a slight bow, _it was something he had learnt as part of his upbringing, and something he had come to enjoy doing. Respect._

"Hmm. Well, let us discuss matters now. I'm certain you have plenty of questions about us... I'll do my best to explain," Craig hobbled over to a bench, and sat, with Celine following and standing beside him.

"To begin with... I am Captain Craig Cuttlefish, and we are, well, we don't exactly have a name yet, but I was part of the Squidbeak Splatoon. Now that the war is over, I have formed this group of 'agents' to help safeguard the peace. Celine here is... Well actually I'll let her introduce herself," Craig said, before gesturing to Celine.

"Thank you, Captain. Once again, I am Celine, and I serve as Agent 0, information specialist of our little group here," Celine introduced herself, before dropping in a little curtesy which Black couldn’t help but find adorable.

_Eh? What? What was he thinking?_

"Well then, Black. I'll get straight to the point. Would you be interested in joining us? You can be agent 1. Together we can safeguard society, keep the peace from hidden threats," Craig popped the question suddenly, looking straight into Black's eyes. _All of a suddenly the carefree man was gone, replaced with a serious, yet earnest man._

Black was shocked. _He had somewhat expected the question, yes,_ but he was shocked, nonetheless. _It was too sudden._

Of course, he wanted to help, _he had to repay these good people for helping him... but, to protect society?_

_Society, society that had utterly rejected him. How could he protect them? He... he couldn't. If there was just any other way of repaying these good people …_

"I see... I am honoured... but I must refuse. I'm sorry... though if you would allow it, I would like to help out around here. I... I would truly like to help," Black held his breath. _He had nowhere else to go. If he was rejected here... he didn't know what to do..._

"Ah. Of course, now. I do hope you would reconsider in time. But yes, you may stay here as long as you need," Craig tried to sound neutral, but it clear he was disappointed. It was obvious. _But nonetheless he was allowed to stay. _

Black smiled sadly.

"Thank you. Erm. Captain?"

"Oh! Just call me Craig since you are not an agent. Ah, and it goes without saying, but no one can know about us now, yes?" Craig smiled.

"Captain! But... Ah... I... Nevermind. Sir." Celine gasped, before composing herself once more and re-assuming her standing at ease stance.

"Agent 0. Relax, dear. Though please do help out Black here however you can, after all, you both should be around the same age, right?"

"Yes Captain. Though, it is RUDE to ask a lady her age now, YES CAPTAIN?" Celine smiled. Smiled oh so sweetly at Craig, and Black swore he could hear Craig mentally curse.

"Right. Yes dear, sorry."

"As long as you get it, Sir. Ah, sorry you had to see that, Black. I'm 12 by the way, you are...?" Celine turned and cocked her head at Black as she directed the question to him.

"... I am 10 years of age," Black replied.

"Ohhhhh, haha well I guess I'm out of your league then, being 2 years older and all…"

"NO! I... I mean no. You...you are very much in your… I mean my league. Miss. Erm. Celine." Black interrupted suddenly, spitting words out in short breathes. _He didn't know why, but he did. _And now awkward silence hung between them.

"What?"

"What."

Black blinked. _Oh shit. He messed up. What was he saying? What was he feeling? Urggg. _

"Riggght. So anyways I will be around, if there's anything you need, just give a call?" Celine dragged out her sentence, before slipping away.

_Shit. He messed up. What was he even thinking?_

"..." Black watched Celine pop around the corner of the shack, out of sight, as he stood mutely.

"Celine is single, if you are interested" Craig spoke up.

_Ah. _

Black had almost forgotten about him.

_And, yes. He was very much interested. Dammit. That was an issue. _

"Ah... To be young again... You see, when I was your age...." Craig began now, with Black realizing too late that he was being dragged into a never-ending story.

_Well. Better than confronting his feelings. _

* * *

Black had spent the next few days in the outpost, learning about the place. Apparently, this place was actually named forward base Delta, and was a staging area against the Octarians during the war. Now, the Captain was using it was a frontline base of operations for his little ‘protect society’ mission.

The fact that the place was literally in Octo canyon, where the Octarians were based, gave Black a vague outline of just who and what the hidden threats were.

_It seemed, that despite their overall defeat, the Octarians hadn’t quite given up fully._

There was another staging area, Craig had informed Black, over in Octo Valley, though for now it was uninhabited. Black had also learnt of another member of the team, a techie by the name of 'Sheldon'. Sheldon was the weapons and tech brains of the team, and Black looked forward to meeting him. After all, he was interested in the technology used against the Octarians. After everything said and done, he was still an intellectual, and his desire to learn was still there.

After the rather awkward incident on the second day, Celine had stopped avoiding him by the third day. They had begun chatting, normally this time, about themselves. It mostly was Celine, Black still wasn't really up for sharing of his past.

Celine was a war orphan, having both parents killed in the Great Turf War, and met with the Captain short thereafter, joining as an agent to safeguard the peace. To ensure there were no more such cases of children losing their parents.

She had joined at a tender age of 7, shortly after she assumed her humanoid form, and had trained under the Captain in various techniques of fighting and stealth.

It was a nice warm afternoon when they had that chat. The duo had sat in the shack, sheltered from the afternoon Sun.

Black had listened the whole time, silent_. What had he been doing when he was 7? _Scorning the principals of education, all the while when everything was provided for him, that’s what.

_Sure, his 'parents' didn't care much for him, but he was provided for, given space to grow and nurture. He was able given freedom pursue his studies in whatever he wanted, to spend his free time however he liked... _ _All while Celine was dealing with the deaths of her parents. And training. Training to be better, to prevent such cases from happening again... _

And here she was, now. Still going strong, still doing her best to safeguard and protect. She had saved him from his despair and fear, she had saved him out of the pit he was in.

_And for that he would be forever grateful. _

And so, the duo talked. Sometimes Celine had to go on missions, and Black spent the day training his body with the Captain. While his mind was quick to pick up the theories of the different moves, his body was any but ready for the physical exercise. But Black trained, and slowly began picking up on various techniques as well.

He was a fast learner. _Of course he was. His mind was still active and strong, he just needed to get his body into shape to properly execute said moves. _

And in the days when Celine was around, sometimes she joined in the training, encouraging and pushing Black, and other times, they sat at the bench of the outpost, and talked. They talked, and learnt about each other.

Time passed, days became weeks, and they grew even closer over the time.

By the end of the second week, Black knew. _He read about this before, and the symptoms, the feelings, the thoughts... They all pointed towards one thing. _

Whenever he heard Celine laugh. Whenever Celine smiled. Whenever he saw Celine.

He wanted to make her happy. He wanted to have her smile.

Whenever he saw her, he suddenly had renewed strength to continue onwards.

He knew. He wasn't a fool. He knew.

_Celine. _

Black was in love with Celine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right. So as of the second chapter ( and second week)... the fic ain't doing too well. Hahahaha, its fine, its fine. Though! Thanks to my one anonymous guest who left a kudos! Yea! Thanks, whoever you are out there! 
> 
> Still, do I care about the success of the fic? NO! okok, maybe yes, just a little. But really, I'm mainly writing this for fun, since its something I wanted to write. Since its well, a backstory of my own OC, it isn't quite going to get as many views or likes. I'm fine with that. 
> 
> Well, nonethless, I'm still going to write, though... updates may slow down, just a little, why you ask? Because I got hit in the head with an idea mid-week, and am going to start a new fic concurrently. So... maybe ya. I'll try to keep both works going though!
> 
> Right, enough of my ranting. Ara. Unto the story itself!
> 
> In case anysquid hadn't realized it yet, yes, this work is the backtotry for my OC, Zero. Except he isn't agent 0 here, yet. And its also a romance story, and angst at the same time. 
> 
> ...
> 
> Its going to be quite a ride.
> 
> Hahahaha.
> 
> SO this chapter had quite a bit of timeskipping, cause quite alot of activities were that that required time to pass. So yea. yea. EH. I don't know what else to say without getting too spoilery. welp.
> 
> So! Feedback is appreciated and loved, and I would reply to every comment when I can!
> 
> Until next time,  
Stay Fresh!


	3. Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics represent thought.  
\--- represent change in POV, location, or time passing.

"Let's go on a date!" Celine had popped the announcement out of nowhere one morning, causing Black to spit out the coffee he was sipping _(Yes, sipping, he was a trained gentlesquid, though his conduct now was anything but)._

"Wh... WHAT? WHO? ahem. I mean. Who would you like to go with?" Black spluttered, obviously missing quite a good part of Celine's declaration in the first place.

"You, silly. Black, let's go on a date," Celine laughed _(Oh was it beautiful)_ as she pointed at Black in a 'bang' pose.

"..." Black's mouth opened and closed. He pointed at himself, and at Celine, before collapsing on the chair he was already sitting on.

_Ok. He had it bad for Celine._ Black acknowledged that fact. _Except his body still hadn't quite caught the drift and was still behaving like a 1 year old. Heck, he didn't even behave like this when he was 1 year old._

_Right. He really should stop gaping like a goldfish and give an answer._

"Oh! Yeah sure. You'll be honoured! I mean! I'll be honoured! Ahem. So, when...?" Black returned with a more minor mess up this time. _(Oh hush, he was getting better now)._

"Ha. Now, of cause. First things first, let's head for some clothes shopping. You NEED new clothes," Celine grinned, raising an eyebrow at Black's state of dress.

Somehow, with the lending of some of Craig's old uniforms and overtly enthusiastic washing on Black's part, he had been able to survive with his meagre wardrobe so far. Though, having new clothes certainly was appealing.

Talking about clothes, Black finally allowed himself to acknowledge the fact that Celine was wearing casual clothes. It wasn't anything special per se, though to Black, it was everything special.

Celine donned a pale plaid top and form fitting jeans, having a white cloth tentacle band and high cut boots to complete her ensemble.

_In contrast... _Black looked down at himself. He was wearing his white shirt and a pair of Craig's old faded jeans along with his business shoes. Though his shirt now had a rather big splotch of brown coffee across the chest area. _Urg. He had to change that. But then the alternative was Craig's old military uniforms..._

_Well, he still had his suit. Perhaps he could improvise and create an acceptable outfit with one of Craig 's less decorated uniforms..._

15 minutes later, Black was ready, having changed his coffee stained shirt with a (roughly) plain green uniform dress shirt and his business coat. _It wouldn’t hold up for party dress, but it would do for a date._

_A date. Cod dammit. He was going on a date with Celine. Now. A date. Ah shit, his mind was melting again._

* * *

Approximately 10 minutes later, Black was ready. _As in able to function properly without becoming a blushing, gaping mess ready. Good enough._

"Well then! Let's head out!" Celine smiled and grabbed his hand, rushing out of the outpost and leading them back towards the city.

Black was vaguely aware he should be taking note of his surroundings, _where the outpost was, the layout of the area... the likes. Except his mind had once again turned to jelly-o when Celine grabbed his hand._

She had taken his hand before, back when they first met in the junkyard. But that was different. Now, now he was painfully aware of his feelings for Celine, and the simple contact of their hands was enough to destroy every mental barrier he had set up.

_Composed. He was supposed to be composed. He was a Coddamned Genius! He shouldn't be reduced to such a primitive state, he knew the theory of love and how the feelings worked. He knew the theoretical feelings and thoughts that would come. _

_He understood it all. Yet he didn't. It was complicated._

"Annnd here we are! What's your type?" Celine's voice interrupted his thoughts, and he looked towards her in a daze. _Huh? What was she asking about? His type? _

"Ah, someone like you? " Black responded offhandedly, before his mental state caught up to the situation. _They were supposed to be going for clothes shopping. Oh. Oh shit. _

"Ah! Erm, right, sorry! Clothes! Right, clothes. Erm I don't have much a preference actually, anything is fine." Black sputtered, praying Celine didn't catch his earlier slip up.

_Oh. She was blushing. Oh Cod it was cute. _

"..." _Oh. That meant she did catch his slip up._

_On one hand now he could have the wonderful sight of Celine blushing, on the other... whatever. He could have the wonderful sight of Celine blushing. Oh Cod it was cute. _

_He was repeating himself, wasn’t he? Ah, he really had it down for Celine. _

* * *

What seemed like an eternity later (actually just 5 minutes) both Black and Celine had composed themselves, and had headed into the mall.

First up: clothes. The duo patronised a small quaint store manned by a jellyfish. After some fitting, Black settled on a couple of polo shirts and an extra white shirt, along with 2 more pairs of dark blue jeans.

Celine had paid for everything, much to Black's distress. Then again, it wasn't like he had any money on himself, so there wasn't much he could say about it.

He made sure to carry the bags.

After clothes shopping, they found it to be nearing lunch time, and thus decided to take a break at a nearby coffeeshop. Picking at their crabby salads (paid again by Celine) they watched people pass outside in relative silence.

"Look. This... this is the peace we protect," Celine broke the silence, never once moving her head from staring into the crowd.

"..." Black was silent, _after all, what could he say? He had straight up rejected their offer to be an agent and help keep the peace. _

"Some... some of them may have hurt you, yes, but still, they require protection nonetheless," Celine paused, an unreadable expression across her features, before she continued, "To protect. To safeguard. For peace."

Black tore his gaze from the crowd and chose to look at Celine. _She was beautiful, the light highlighting the cheekbones and contours of her face as she looked out. But where the light was, shadows were too. _Half of Celine’s face was hidden in the shadows, and Black could not help but find the beauty and message shown.

_To support those in the light from the shadows. Shadows wherein no one knew about. But from where they were, always, in the shadows. _

_They. Was there a they? If.. if Black truly was considering... No, looking at Celine from the side, he realized he needed no considering, he had already decided. _

"I would... consider, yes. But perhaps, a little more time." Black breathed, never looking away from Celine.

Celine blinked, before smiling slightly and turning to face him.

"We'll be waiting, forevermore."

A stab of pain. A stab of pain in his hearts.

For a moment, he saw. He saw something, a blurred image, someone. _Celine…?_

And as quickly as it came, it was gone. Black was puzzled, _what had just happened? Well, it was over, best not give too much thought to it then._

* * *

After the light lunch, the duo had gone on to shop for various odds and ends. Some new shoes for Black. Supplies for the outpost. Washing powder, air fresheners... and a new watch for Celine. Apparently, she broke her last one on a previous mission and needed a replacement.

They had then returned to the outpost and dropped off the multiple bags.

Upon finishing up the unpacking, Celine had suggested they head out again, it was only 3.30pm, there was plenty of time for some fun and games.

The duo ended up in some arcade, with Celine teaching Black on how to play and different machines. Celine was half-way through teaching Black how to 'win' at the claw machines when it happened.

"Tōsokurui? Is that you?" A voice called out.

Suddenly everything seemed still. Black froze up, muscles tightening and eyes widening.

Celine caught on immediately, and pulled on his hand and began exiting the arcade.

"Tōsokurui! It is you! What are you doing here? Hey! Answer me! Hey! Somesquid stop him! He's dangerous!" The voice called out again, and Black could now feel a pit of dredge forming in his stomach.

_He shouldn't have come out. He had forgotten. He slipped up. He let his guard down. And now he has been found. _

"Hey. Hey, look at me. That’s right, look at me," Celine calmly, yet forcefully whispered to him.

Black looked down at her, pretty certain his face was clearly giving away what he was feeling now.

"There now. Deep breaths. Just ignore everything else, focus on me, ya?" Celine continued, all the while gripping his hand tightly and leading him out of the establishment.

"That's right. Now, we are just going leave, ok? See? No one is stopping us," Celine said, and she was right. Despite the shouting from somewhere behind him, no one was really doing anything but look on.

"Tōsokurui! Come back! Stop! STOP! Somesquid stop that boy!" The voice hollered, but was now lost in the crowd. The screaming was fading away into the distance, as Black and Celine left the arcade and the general area.

Keeping a quick, yet steady pace, Celine walked with Black in tow, darting through alleys and backstreets, and before long they were back at the outpost.

"..."

"Hey. Erm, sorry about that. Are you ok--awhsgsj!" Celine turned to check on Black before being tackled by said squid, as he hugged her tightly.

"..."

"Thank you," Black sniffed. He knew he was probably bothering Celine, but he was scared. So scared that he would be discovered, and again Celine had come through for him, saving him yet again.

"There now. It's ok now. You are safe here," Celine squeezed out, as she awkwardly patted Black's back, and tried (unsuccessfully) to squirm out of the embrace.

Celine grimaced. _The heck? Black certainly was a lot stronger now._

And so they stay like that a little while more, before Black let go and backed off.

"So... sorry," He mumbled.

Realizing that he had, in fact, just HUGGED Celine sent Black reeling, a blush breaking out on his face.

"D… don't worry about it. Sorry for messing up the date," Celine half whispered back, blushing slightly herself, as she tried in vain to cover her face.

"..."

"No. It… was wonderful, I enjoyed a lot," Black, having gotten control over his expressions, now said with a smile in Celine direction.

"I... I...lo— "Black stumbled over his words. _What? What was he even planning on saying? This was SO not the place and time._

"I… see. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Well, that's the end though. I'll be around," Celine stated, as she got up and dusted herself off, turning to leave.

_No. It's not the end. He may never get the chance again. Screw having a perfect set up. Screw it all. _

_No. Don't go. _

"I love you!" Black shouted out, still on the floor himself.

Celine stopped.

"I... I really do love you. And not in a friendship kind of way. I... You saved me. And I truly do love you…" Words were now just tumbling out of Black's mouth. He couldn’t stop it. The words were just flowing out. His feelings, his thoughts, everything.

Celine was silent, and continued standing on the spot.

Finally, she turned, an unreadable expression on her face.

"I am glad you feel that way. But I..." Celine trailed off, and a break was seen in her expressionless mask. Hurt and sadness leaked through for a moment, before she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, continuing," I'm sorry. I cannot return your feelings," Celine finished, and turned, running off and turning around the shack.

It might just have been a trick of light, but for a moment Black saw tears at the corner of Celine's eyes.

Then it was gone. She was gone. And he was alone again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh... what a heart breaker....
> 
> Urg. I hate myself for even writing this, I just want them to be together already! DAMMMIIIIT!!!!
> 
> Maybe its cause they (Black and Celine) are both my OCs, but I really love them! I want them to be happy! AH....
> 
> So! During the date we actually learn of Black's real name, heh. Its actually just a reference.
> 
> Tōsokurui is Japanese for the word cephalopod. Ha. Me and my references, they are always just Japanese translated words.
> 
> But whether I'm going anywhere with who Black really is.... well I don't know. I mean, it is his story, but I don't know if I want to end up introducing his parents and all. That was kinda finished up in chapter 1.
> 
> Well, do let me know if anyone's interested about that. Feedback is appreciated and loved, on the chapter or story as a whole. Also, thanks to the rather improved reaction to the last chapter! I see you kudos, and know that I appreciated your unspoken people as well!
> 
> Until next time,  
Stay Fresh!


	4. Dark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics represent thought.  
\--- represent change in POV, location, or time passing.

Cuttlefish observed the situation in silence. _It wasn't his place to intervene, but it was worrying. _

Black and Celine hadn’t talked for 2 days now. _The moment was coming. They really should make up before the situation became worse. _

_Well, it wasn't like Black knew... Celine, Celine should be the one to break the silence whenever they met._

Cuttlefish sighed. _Young people these days, so complicated._

_Though... The same could be said of his own family. Relationships breaking down, affairs and cheating happening behind each other backs. _

Cuttlefish pulsed his lips; _now the ones feeling the brunt of all the tension were none other than his 2 lovely granddaughters._

_ Well, he really shouldn't be dwelling on his problems too much, he had to deal with his own agents now._

Cuttlefish was aware that both Black and Celine had mutual feelings about each other, though somehow everything had messed up along the way. Black wasn't quite discreet about his feelings now, though as for Celine, well... she was more secretive. Nonetheless, Cuttlefish had known her long enough to know that she did in fact have romantic feelings for the boy she brought in about 3 weeks ago.

_And now, the moment was coming. He couldn't tell them, he didn't want to aggravate the situation between them even more. Celine knew, she really should be the one to make up with Black. _

* * *

Another day passed without Black or Celine talking. They would meet, of course, but would simply slide pass each other and go their separate ways.

Cuttlefish's hearts ached in pain at the situation, yet he could do nothing. _This was up to them now._

For the past 3 days of so, Black had been absorbed in his training, going beyond his limits multiple times despite Cuttlefish's warnings to be careful. Celine, on the other hand, had been doing way more patrols then needed, and Cuttlefish highly suspected she had been sneaking off to the kettles as stress relief as well.

Cuttlefish was now seated on the bench in the afternoon, a break between training, as he contemplated the situation once more. _Truly, it wasn't much different from his family's. _

Cuttlefish sighed, and thought on his situation.

Hi_s fool of a son had somehow gotten mixed up with 2 separate relationships, and had a child with each. Recently, the situation was discovered by one of the wives, and now the entire family was being torn apart. The ones that had it the worse were the 2 children; his granddaughters. Yet somehow they remained strong in the face of adversity, finding solace with one another. _

Cuttlefish even understood that they had plans to complete in the upcoming Calamari country folk singing contest. He allowed himself a proud smile, _truly, they were strong. _

_He had already made plans. After the competition, he would take them in. _

_No more broken families, they could join him in the city, and live a proper life here. _

Cuttlefish closed his eyes, and gave a silent prayer for his two babies. _Callie, Marie, just endure it a little more now, my dears. _

* * *

"Craig?"

Cuttlefish snapped his eyes open, to see Black in front of him.

"Ho. What is it, dear boy?" Cuttlefish instantly switched to a more joyful, carefree face as he spoke to Black. _It wouldn't do to have Black worried now._

"Ah. Erm. Right, I'm not quite sure how to go about this but. But, I'm sorry. May I leave the outpost for a bit? I promise I'll be back," Black asked in a rather unsure tone.

"Oh. Ha. There’s no need to be so formal now, just get Ce--"

"Alone, sir. Sorry, I would like to be alone," Black interrupted him before he finished.

Cuttlefish was silent. _This wasn't good. Black didn't even want to be near to Celine now. And judging by his status, being away 'a bit' would be more than enough to miss the moment. _

_But who was he to stop Black? He knew it just wasn't right for him to interfere, no matter how much he wanted to... _

"Craig? If... if this is about Celine leaving. I... I know. I figured it out, that's why I would like to leave," Black stammered out, averting his eyes in shame towards the end.

"..." Cuttlefish’s eyes widened. _Somehow, Black had figured out that Celine was leaving. _

_That was true. Celine was due for a long 3-4 days infiltration mission of a secret octarian facility that they had discovered recently. _

Cuttlefish had wanted them to make up before Celine left, but somehow Black had already figured it out._ Damn genius. _

_And that... was true too. Black was truly a genius, able to catch on anything thrown at him, thus it was really no surprise that Black had already figured out that Celine was leaving. Perhaps his body language, or Celine's, but the bottomline was that Black knew. And that he intended on leaving to avoid the moment. _

Cuttlefish narrowed his eyes. _This WASN'T good._

"Young man, listen here now. I don't know what conclusion you came to about Celine. But let me tell you this, Celine does feel similarly to yourself. If you still chose to leave, it is up to you, but don't expect anyone to come after you to bring you back. " Cuttlefish spoke calmly, but with a slight edge in his voice. He didn't want to seem reprimanding, but certain moments such as this require some authority.

"Yes, sir." Black replied, stammer and guilt suddenly vanishing, as he gave a slight bow, seemingly completely unfazed by him.

_Had the boy already predicted he would react as such? It was all... an act. _Cuttlefish pressed his lips tightly together, as he watched Black turn to leave. _Not good. Not good indeed._

* * *

Finally, the day came. _It was simple, nothing different._ Celine left the outpost without much ceremony, headed for octo canyon.

Cuttlefish saw her off. He looked straight at her, but couldn't get a proper read on his lone agent.

Celine was decked out in her full agent suit, which included a full face mask with the number '0' displayed in front, along with her standard black and red vest coat. 

"Agent 0. Best of luck on your mission," Cuttlefish stood in front of Celine as he gave his final regards to her.

“Yes, Captain," Agent 0 responded, almost robotically. She always seemed like a different person when she was in full agent gear, on top secret missions such as this.

"And Agent 0, no, Celine... Please do have talk with Black when you are back. I know he is not here, but... Talk it out, please," Cuttlefish added on._ He really didn't want to intervene on their relationship, but he felt if he held back anymore, everything would be destroyed._

"Yes, Captain," Agent 0 responded once more, again in her robotic voice.

Cuttlefish shook his head slightly, and closed his eyes in sadness. _Well, he had done whatever he could, he really should stop now._

Cuttlefish opened his eyes, and gazed ahead at his Agent. _He really didn't want to see these two young people torn apart right I front of him, really, he didn't. It broke his old hearts, but there was nothing more he could do, if both parties refused to open up in the first place. _

Cuttlefish gave a sad smile, hidden behind his beard. 

"Best of luck, Agent 0."

"Thank you, Captain."

And with that, Agent 0 turned and headed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm, all sorts of problems are showing up, people being difficult and all... well, shit's about the hit the fan. Ah.
> 
> Righto, but let's get straight into it. Erm, Callie and Marie are cousins, meaning they have different mothers/fathers, right? Yet they are both also granddaughters to the same person (Craig), which must mean they must have at least one of their parents to be the same, right? Erm, I'm not that good with family lineage and all, but that's what I got from it. If they were sisters, then it makes a whole lot of sense, but noooo, they are cousins.... SO yea. I have no idea if I misinterpreted the whole deal, but either way, I was going to have them have a rather broken childhood anyways.
> 
> Now, over to Black and Celine... erm. it isn't going well, huh. Both of them are starting to shut off their feelings, and not to mention distancing themselves... arg. well, this is an angst fic, so yea. haha. Unlike my other work, 'Fresh start' which is also an angst (but has a happy ending), i'm not going to spoil it here, but suffice to say it isn't as happy as 'Fresh Start'. Both fics are running concurrently, though, so lol, going to have to wait nonetheless.
> 
> Anyways, as per usual, feedback is loved and appreciated, I would reply to every comment when I can.
> 
> Until next time,  
Stay Fresh!


	5. Contemplation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics represent thought.  
\--- represent change in POV, location, or time passing.

Black perched on the top of the building ledge, observing the hustle and bustle of the city below him.

_It had been a whole 2 days since he left the outpost, Celine was no doubt gone by now._

Black sighed, after Celine rejected him that day, he had gotten rather down for a bit, but quickly re-assumed his analytical self. Within a day he had figured out that Celine was likely keeping something from him, and by the second day he had a high suspicion that Celine may be leaving the outpost for some reason.

He had taken a chance by confronting Craig on the issue, and based off his reaction, Black knew he was right. _As he always was._

_Feelings, they weren't needed. Before, before all this, he was an unfeeling individual, and look at what he had accomplished. And now, now he allowed himself to feel, to fall in love, and all he gotten was emotional pain. _

_Oh, it hurt_. It hurt even now, so Black cut himself of. He cut himself off from his feelings, simply concentrating on the here and now.

That was mostly the reason why he left when he did. If Celine was indeed leaving (which she was), Black knew he wasn't going to be able to handle the emotions. So, he left, _it was for the best for both of them. _

Celine had indicated she wasn't interested anyways, _at least that's what he tried to keep telling himself._

_The tears. The tears and the pain he saw in her eyes as she rejected him. A part of him wanted to hope, to hope for the slimmest of chances. But for now the rational, logical part of himself was in control, and such feelings were suppressed._

Black looked down at the city spread before him.

_Did all the residents even care? Did they even know that Celine and the others were working behind their backs to protect them? Of course not, but if they knew, would they be grateful? Or would they not care?_

Black narrowed his eyes. _He highly suspected it was the latter. Then again, he probably was biased. Well, not for him to judge other now._

_He should probably return soon. He knew he was being selfish, coming and going as he pleased, while he contributed nothing to the cause._

_And yet Craig still welcomed him. He was truly a nice man,_ Black thought, _he would make sure to find some way to repay him, he had to._

_Join. Join as an agent. That would repay them plenty. _

Black shook his head, he knew that. But he still had insecurities and doubts about it. _Perhaps he would just join and serve from the shadows, never contacting society. He wanted nothing to do with them anymore._

Black stood from his perch. _He had decided, time to act on it._

He leapt from the ledge, allowing himself to free fall.

Twisting in the air, he spun and slowed his descent by jumping off the walls as he passed, landing gracefully onto the ground. _His physical training was certainly quite helpful in strengthening his body to execute such movements now._

\---

Black expected the outpost to be silent, so was rather surprised to hear rather animated sounds coming from the outpost.

Entering the area, he saw Craig talking to_... a horse-shoe crab?_

"Black! Good to see you back!" Craig caught unto his entrance pretty quickly, addressing him.

"Yes... I'm back, Craig. Hmm, might I ask who this is gentleman?" Black answered. _He had intended on informing the captain on his decision to join as an Agent, though now wasn't quite sure if he should with the presence of a stranger._

"Oh! Hello there! I'm Sheldon, technology and weapons adviser to Captain Cuttlefish! You must be Black now, right? I heard plenty about you! Truly it is a shame we hadn't been able to meet before, I must say I looked you up and found several of your papers. And allow me to say you are an absolute genius! The ideas, and thesis are truly amazing, would you consider having a partnership with me to further our knowledge? I would very much love to, though please know that this is just a request," Sheldon chattered.

Black was slightly taken aback by the sheer speed and volume of words coming from such a small statue of a person, though took it in stride.

"Ah, yes. Pleased to meet you, Sheldon. In regards to your offer, I would very much like to accept, there are many things I still have yet to learn in regards to weaponry," Black replied, as he gave a bow of greeting to the horse-shoe crab.

_Then what Sheldon said clicked. Sheldon had somehow found out about his thesis papers only from the name of 'Black'. Except that those papers were written under his previous name, 'Black' didn't even exist till a month ago._

The boy narrowed his eyes slightly_, he would do to be wary of this 'Sheldon' now. _

"Wonderful! I'm glad. It's great to meet you again, a shame Agent 0 isn’t here to share the moment," Sheldon bent down and began taking stuff out of his little pack.

"Actually, I'm currently testing a new weapon; the Herobrush, would you be interested in helping out?" Sheldon continued, revealing multiple parts.

"Certainly. Craig, do excuse me," Black turned and gave a bow to Cuttlefish, and was waved off.

"Go, enjoy yourself now. Ha. Stretch those brain muscles."

Black bowed once more, before joining up with Sheldon as he began explaining the different parts and how they came together to from the Herobrush.

\---

Black had kicked it off with Sheldon. For the next three days, they had been at their little makeshift workshop non-stop, discussing, even arguing at times on the design of the Herobrush.

_They always made up though,_ so Cuttlefish reckoned it was fine.

Cuttlefish left the duo to experiment with their latest version of the Herobrush, the design had already changed rather drastically, with several different variants appearing.

Cuttlefish allowed his mind to wander. He had plenty of time to think these few days, since Black had hardly trained at all. Not that Cuttlefish was concerned, Black had shown amazing progress, and was almost at the level of a combat Agent.

More importantly, Cuttlefish was concerned on Agent 0. Agent 0's mission was due to end today, latest. Yet she was still nowhere to be found.

Cuttlefish was worried. _Agent 0 was capable, _Cuttlefish trusted in her skills_, but still, it was worrying._

Cuttlefish knew there was no point in worrying, it only served to demoralise the environment. _Either Agent 0 returned with a successful mission, or she never would at all._

Cuttlefish closed his eyes and took a deep breath. _No, he shouldn't be jumping to conclusions now, if Agent 0 didn't show up by tomorrow, he would have to head out to search for her. _

He was still in his middle years, and was pretty sure he still had it in him for a search and rescue mission.

Cuttlefish gripped his bamboozler tighter, looking down at it.

_I'm sorry, old friend, but you may yet see action again,_ Cuttlefish silently directed to his weapon. _He had hoped that the time of war and fighting was over, but it seemed it may be not so._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right... Sorry for the last post lol, I had a lot of shit to do this week, and was rather busy!
> 
> ... 
> 
> *smiles*
> 
> ... 
> 
> OK, there's another reason. Honestly I kinda lost interest, a tad, in this fic. No, not because of the views or reaction to this fic (I'm totally fine, really) but rather I just hit a worters block. I'm stuck, I have no idea how to continue.
> 
> Maybe running two fic concurrently was a bad idea, because now my mind is full of Fresh Start, and nothing in this. So I'm stuck. I still have a general idea on to continue the story, plot and all, but I can't... Can't write it out! Arg!
> 
> Well. Enough of ranting. Unto the story.
> 
> So! Sheldon appeared! And since he's kinda the technology brains to the NSS, he should be quite capable in hacking and getting information too, right.
> 
> This chapter had a little reference to Black's weapon of choice, his modified hero brush too. 
> 
> That and it kinda ended rather down, huh? Yeah well, it is angst, so there going to be trouble.
> 
> Well, I'm... Struggling. I don't know what I write, even here in the notes. So... Yea. Sorry I guess. 
> 
> Feedback is loved and appreciated, I would reply to every comment when I can. 
> 
> Until next time,   
Stay Fresh.


	6. Discovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics represent thought.  
\--- represent change in POV, position, or time passing.

Cuttlefish woke up and stretched. Checking the time, he let out a sigh. _It would have been more than 24 hours since Agent 0 was due to return, thus a rescue operation would now be needed to be launched. _

_Well, he had already inspected and prepared all the equipment required before heading for a power nap, now all he had to do was don it. _

Making his way to the shack, Cuttlefish opened the door and was met with the sight of Black holding some type of stick.

"Good morning, Craig," Black greeted him in a smooth silky voice.

"Good morning, Black. What are you doing here?" Cuttlefish replied. H_e had a bad feeling about this. Somehow the posture and tone Black was taking was unnerving. He was planning something, Cuttlefish could tell as much._

"Ah. Waiting for you, of course," Black replied with a smile, showing teeth, before continuing, "Let us get straight to point now, yes?"

_Cuttlefish was now 100% certain Black had intended for everything so far to have gone the way it did._

Nodding, he gestured for Black to say his piece.

"Hmm. Well, allow me to be direct. Celine is just about 24 hours overdue from her supposed return, thus you are no doubt about to head out to find her. I propose that I would be a better candidate for this task, please allow me to don these equipments to do so," Black finished his spiel with a bow, his hands, and more importantly, the stick he was holding moving slightly.

The stick caught Cuttlefish's attention. Looking closer, he realized it was no stick, but looked very much like the designs shown by the blueprints he briefed through before his nap.

_The Herobrush, except it seemed much more modified than the blueprints variant._

Cuttlefish pondered in thought for a moment. _Black was no doubt capable of a search and rescue, in fact, having him do the search and rescue made more sense, while he himself acted as a coordinator._ Black was also already equipped with a weapon, which coincidentally was what the set of gear lacked.

"Very well, you may take over then. I'll leave this task to you, Agent 1," Cuttlefish said.

"Ah. Thank you, Captain, Sir. I will make preparations right away," Black replied, sliding past him and fitting on the gear hanging of the rack.

Black was quick, moving in deftly and efficiently. _Too efficiently, in fact. Almost as if he had already equipped the gear before._

Cuttlefish ignored it. _Now was not the time for these type of thoughts. The sooner they headed out to find Celine, the better._

* * *

Black—now temporary Agent 1, stood decked out in full agent gear. Not wasting any time on ceremony, he nodded to the captain, before turning and heading into octarian territory.

Agent 1 first priority was to be headed to Agent 0's last known location, which was to be the coordinates given to him by the captain.

Hiking quickly through the bland landscape, Black could now see Octarian land up close and personal; that there was nothing to see. The land was barren, the occasional rock and outcropping being the only difference to the flat desert like land.

In the distance, he could make out tall structures with signs of life. But the coordinates given lead not to the structures, but to the cliffs that rose in the distance.

Following the digital map on his wrist, Agent 1 continued onwards.

* * *

According to the time, it had been 14 hours since he left the outpost—now a speck in the distance, perched onto a cliff. The Sun had set, allowing its counterpart to emerge with the night.

The thing about deserts, or any flat expanse of land in general, was that in the day it could be scorching hot, but at night freezing cold.

Agent 1 shivered, even in the gear, it was cold. _Well, at least he was here. His position marker gave him about 100 meters at most to the secret Octarian lab. _

Adopting stealth mode, One made his way forwards, ensuring all his equipment was muted.

50 metres. _Still nothing but rocks along the cliffs face. _

20 meters. _The same barren land on the right, the cliff wall on the left. _

10 meters. _Yet more rocks. Still no sign of any type of base._

At this point, Black highly suspected it was built into the cliff itself. _That or underground. _

His leg caught on something and he lurched forwards. Drawing upon his training, Agent 1 quickly spread his hands out to balance himself, and corrected his posture to avoid falling. All done soundlessly.

Black turned, wondering what had tripped him, his gaze eventually falling on the culprit; a piece of cloth. Black cloth was wedged under a rock, and was the cause of his near fall.

Crouching, Agent 1 inspected the cloth.

His fist clenched. The world slowed. Silence somehow became even more prominent.

The cloth was no normal cloth in the wind. It was part of Agent 0's suit.

Looking around, Agent 1 quickly spotted yet another strip of Black cloth waving in the wind, high above him.

Gritting his teeth, he grabbed the first cloth out from under the rock, and began climbing.

* * *

14 pieces of cloth later, he found the last piece waving at the entrance to a small cave.

And there, in the cave, she lay.

_The same figure that once was strong, reaching out a helping hand. Now the figure was collapsed on the ground of the cave, motionless. _

A surge of anger welled up within him, but he quickly quelled it. _Now was not the time for this. He had to attend to Celine first. _

Moving quickly, Black made into the cave, flipping open the remainder of Agent 0's coat and exposing her chest.

Black took a breath, forcing his mind to the matter at hand instead of wandering; _he was in a mission now, he had to concentrate._ He placed a hand over her Celine's chest, and another at her neck.

She was cold. But faintly, below both his hands, he could still feel weak heartbeats. _She was still alive. There was still hope._

Black reached to his headphones and turned a knob, it would send a signal to the Captain to inform him of Celine's discovery.

Removing his hands, Black grabbed Celine's thigh and arm, before lifting her and hoisting her body over his back.

Using a set of clips and some rope, he quickly secured her body to his. He gathered the scattered belongings, and exited the cave, snagging the last piece of cloth on the way.

_Now, time to descent. This was going to be tricky. _

* * *

It was close to 30 hours since Agent 1 first set out to find Celine, and now, he returned, successful.

Making his way into the outpost, he found both the Captain and Sheldon waiting with anxious faces.

He made into the shack without a word, unclipping and setting Celine down onto the cot.

The Captain and Sheldon followed.

He stepped back. _Time to let the Captain work now. He had learnt that the Captain dealt with wounds and recovery before in the field, thus he was most suited to this job._

He didn't have much experience with medicine, though now he wished he had.

Sharing a look with Sheldon, they grimly nodded, and exited the shack to give the Captain space.

_Wait. Now all they could do was wait. _

* * *

_Darkness. He was in the darkness once more. And the darkness asked him, what did he want? He gave his answer, and the darkness laughed. _

_The darkness surrounded him, and spoke of death. The darkness spoke of hopelessness. And finally, the darkness spoke of anger and revenge. _

_He was in the darkness. He was the darkness. The darkness was him and he was the darkness. _

_Revenge. He wanted revenge. _

_The darkness now solidified, whooshing past him and taking shape before him. A form took shape, and a boy now stood before him. He was the boy and the boy was him. They were one, they always were one. _

_The boy smiled. _

_Tosukuri. That was the boy. That was him. _

_The emotionless genius. But now there were emotions, yes. That of anger. They had hurt someone who they cared about. They had to pay. _

_The darkness was now changing. _

_A cloak of dark became a sea of red. The red howled bloody murder, and surrounded him. The red passed through him. And the red asked him, what did he want? He gave his answer, and the sea of red laughed. _

* * *

Black woke with a gasp. _A dream. It was a dream._

Whatever it was, it was already fading, but it left the anger and hate behind. He wanted to hurt something, hurt it real bad.

_Revenge, he wanted revenge for the damage to what he loved. _

Sheldon was sleeping on the bench besides him. And Craig was nowhere in sight. He was still in the Agent gear, his modified Herobrush besides him.

He didn't think. Acting purely on instinct, Black grabbed his brush, and left the outpost.

Anger, anger and hate was within him. It controlled him, driving him onwards.

_He had a goal. It was obvious. They had done this to Celine. They had to pay. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm... Are there too many 'line breaks' this chapter? I certainly did find that so. hmmm...
> 
> Well, I goot say smth reaaaaal quick. Ah, yeaaaaaa....
> 
> I started this posting with a surplus of about 8 chapters, and est I would be able to upkeep the pace of one chapter per week quite comfartablely.... buuuuut. Well ok, appartently I did not. And whenever I try to wrte.... I'm stuck. Writer's block? Eh, I'm not sure. More like lack of interest. Said interest is now in my 'Inverse colour' universe, and its hard to write 2 fics in 2 universes at the same time.
> 
> Ahahahaha. This is my fault, tottally my fault for attempting smthing like this. My bad, but yea. Sorry, to you small handful of readers that actually read this work. I don't care that its not as successful as, say, "Fresh Start", I just like to write, but yea. Sorry, but this work looks like it's heading into a indefinite hiatus.
> 
> I think I'm stuck around chapter 7? Which is also where the action actually picks up. Arggghhh... I hate myself. Well, I may be able to suddenly get a surge of inspriation to write last mnute, that sometimes happens, but yea. A heads up, I guess.
> 
> Welp.
> 
> Well, as usual, feedback is loved and appreciated, I would reply to every comment when I can.
> 
> Until next time,  
Stay Fresh!


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